Raise your hand if you’ve heard this phrase before: On time and on budget.

Those five words are oft repeated as governments – in Saskatchewan and elsewhere – defend public-private partnership (P3) funding models.

“On time and on budget has been a really powerful message,” says Matti Siemiatycki, a professor of urban planning at the University of Toronto.

On Monday, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) delivered a petition to the government calling for the end of privatization. Close to 20,000 people signed the petition, which criticizes the government’s use of P3s.

Under the P3 model in Saskatchewan, nine elementary schools, a long-term care home in Swift Current, a hospital in North Battleford and the Regina Bypass are being built.

SFL president Larry Hubich said the petition was one of the largest in the province’s history, and is meant to help “raise awareness around the deals that are going on under the guise of public-private partnerships.”

Since arriving in Saskatchewan a few years ago, P3s have been controversial.

Recent polling suggests the majority of people living in this province support P3s, but, as demonstrated by the SFL’s petition, there is still opposition.

While still relatively new here — none of the P3 funded projects are completed yet — the controversy is not unique to Saskatchewan.

Ontario and British Columbia have used P3s for much longer than Saskatchewan. The debate remains polarized across the country.

“It really depends on how the deals are structured,” he said. “There is no such thing as sort of ‘the P3 model’. In fact, there’s any number of different approaches and because of that it varies in terms of impact on both the construction side of the equation and then the operation and maintenance.”

Instead of an ideological battle, which has largely dominated any discussion of P3s in Saskatchewan, Siemiatycki said each project should be evaluated by itself to decide whether or not a P3 model is the best option.

“It’s really not a cut-and-dry issue,” he said. “It really depends on the experience in the jurisdiction and what specific deals are coming down the pipe.”

Where P3s have a longer history, Siemitaycki said public debate over P3s is already starting to change.

“I think the debate is now shifting to under what conditions should we use them, and what specific model should be used,” he said.

“The public debate can go in different ways and the local nature of the projects really play into that.”

There are no signs of the provincial government abandoning the use of P3s, but that could change if the current projects don’t work out.

So long as a project is built on time and on budget, people don’t usually care how it got done.

“That narrative of a performance, I think that is having an impact in shaping the discourse and the dialogue.” said Siemitaycki.

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